Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) by 40.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,745 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Commerce Bancshares were worth $513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 16.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 130,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,282,000 after buying an additional 18,535 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 3.9% during the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 417,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,011,000 after purchasing an additional 15,508 shares in the last quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning acquired a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $526,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 23.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 110,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,322,000 after purchasing an additional 20,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Stewardship LLC lifted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Stewardship LLC now owns 5,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, SVP David L. Roller sold 1,392 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.62, for a total value of $70,463.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,566,638.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP David L. Roller sold 1,392 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.62, for a total value of $70,463.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,566,638.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Douglas D. Neff sold 614 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.25, for a total transaction of $30,853.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,038 shares in the company, valued at $403,909.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,661 shares of company stock worth $606,528 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of CBSH opened at $55.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a PE ratio of 15.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.18. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.91 and a 12-month high of $56.75.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $397.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $389.49 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CBSH has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.00.

Commerce Bancshares Profile

Commerce Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Commerce Bank that provides retail, mortgage banking, corporate, investment, trust, and asset management products and services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Consumer, Commercial, and Wealth.